Udayan Borthakur is a wildlife and nature photographer, filmmaker and conservation geneticist, specialising in the Northeastern India, with a focus on threatened and lesser-known species.

 

As a photographer, Udayan’s interest lies in documentation of wildlife and natural heritage in South and South-East Asia and to use photography as a media to connect people with nature. This requires a persistent effort in acquiring knowledge on wildlife as well as excelling in the techniques of photography which has been the pursuit of his life for past two decades. 

 

His images have been published in national and international magazines, books and reports by individual writers and conservationists, government and non-government agencies and commercial publishers. 

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With over a decade of experience mentoring aspiring photographers, Udayan has conducted numerous workshops focused on outdoor and wildlife photography. He was associated with Nikon School India for nearly ten years as an official wildlife photography mentor and is also a member of Nikon Professional Services.

 

Udayan established the Wildlife Genetics Laboratory of Aaranyak in 2008 and has been actively involved with the organisation ever since. He currently serves as the Director & Head of Aaranyak’s Wildlife Genetics Division. Udayan strives to address the pressing issues facing endangered species and imperilled ecosystems in South Asia by fusing molecular biology, ecology, wildlife crime investigations, and conservation policy. Both Wildlife Genetics Laboratory and Udayan Borthakur are the first facility and expert to be notified by the Government of Assam and the Government of Meghalaya  under Section 329 (4) of the BNSS 2023 to facilitate wildlife genetic and wildlife forensic analysis.

 

As a biologist, Udayan has over two decades of experience in the field of ecological and population genetic research and has previously worked in  University of Chicago, USA, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and Bombay Natural History Society. He has worked on population genetics of several species such as Greater one-horned rhino and Royal Bengal tiger in India, Javan and Sumatran rhinos in Indonesia, White-bellied Heron and snow leopards in Bhutan etc. 

 

Udayan is a member of IUCN SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group and IUCN SSC Heron Specialist Group.